Daily Tips: Surviving The Holidays

Silent night? We wish! Check out these tips to help you survive the holidays.

Daily Tips: Surviving The Holidays

ADD kids and gifts

Youngsters with ADD have an intense interest in acquiring material possenssions, according to Dr. Melvin D. Levine, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Many of these teenagers have difficulty feeling satisfied with their activities or possessions. They constantly want something else or something different. They may be bored with their presents a few days after opening them and want something else to play with or something else to do. On the surface, this behavior appears to reflect a teenager's lack of appreciation for his parents' generosity. But it is more likely related to his symptoms of ADD - short attention span, restlessness, and need for new and different stimulation.

From Teenagers With ADD, by Chris Z. Zeigler Dendy, M.S.

Overnight visit

Staying overnight in an unknown hotel can be great fun, or a horrible nightmare. The bed feels different, the room may "smell funny" to you, sounds are different, and it can be hard to sleep. Here are a few ideas to help the mom with ADD:

Bring your own pillowcase from home. If you are hypersensitive, as some moms with ADD are, the feel and smell of your pillowcase can really help you relax and get to sleep.

If your children have ADD, bring their pillowcases too, as well as a small toy that is familiar. Many preschool children like to bring their favorite blanket.

If you can afford it and your children are school-age or adolescents, get adjoining rooms at a hotel. The kids can watch the programs they like and feel very grown-up. You can have some privacy and a chance to wind down. Your children will pop in and out of your room ever five minutes at first, but they'll usually settle down.

Don't seek the perfect planned vacation or let your spouse rigidly plan every minute. A vacation is a good time to allow yourself some implusive indulgences - to eat in a restaurant you notice from the highway, stop off in a park you didn't know, or suddenly decide to have a picnic. One year while driving our son to camp, we accidently discovered Helen, Georgia, on the map, an entire town with a Bavarian theme. Intrigued, we drove there and enjoyed a stay of several days.